arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All Acoustic End-of-Line Test Systems See All DAQ and instruments See All Electroacoustics See All Software See All Transducers See All Vibration Testing Equipment See All Academy See All Resource Center See All Applications See All Industries See All Insights See All Services See All Support See All Our Business See All Our History See All Our Sustainability Commitment See All Global Presence
arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All Actuators See All Combustion Engines See All Durability See All eDrive See All Production Testing Sensors See All Transmission & Gearboxes See All Turbo Charger See All DAQ Systems See All High Precision and Calibration Systems See All Industrial electronics See All Power Analyser See All S&V Hand-held devices See All S&V Signal conditioner See All Test Solutions See All DAQ Software See All Drivers & API See All nCode - Durability and Fatigue Analysis See All ReliaSoft - Reliability Analysis and Management See All Test Data Management See All Utility See All Vibration Control See All Acoustic See All Current / voltage See All Displacement See All Load Cells See All Pressure See All Strain Gauges See All Torque See All Vibration See All Accessories for Vibration Testing Equipment See All Power Amplifiers See All LDS Shaker Systems See All Vibration Controllers See All Training Courses See All Acoustics See All Asset & Process Monitoring See All Custom Sensors See All Data Acquisition & Analysis See All Durability & Fatigue See All Electric Power Testing See All NVH See All Reliability See All Smart Sensors See All Vibration See All Weighing See All Automotive & Ground Transportation See All Calibration See All Installation, Maintenance & Repair See All Support Brüel & Kjær See All Release Notes See All Compliance See All Our People
arrow_back_ios

Main Menu

See All CANHEAD See All GenHS See All LAN-XI See All MGCplus See All Optical Interrogators See All QuantumX See All SomatXR See All BK Connect / Pulse See All API See All Microphone Sets See All Microphone Cartridges See All Acoustic Calibrators See All Special Microphones See All Microphone Pre-amplifiers See All Sound Sources See All Accessories for acoustic transducers See All Experimental testing See All Transducer Manufacturing (OEM) See All Non-rotating (calibration) See All Rotating See All CCLD (IEPE) accelerometers See All Charge Accelerometers See All Electroacoustics See All Noise Source Identification See All Environmental Noise See All Sound Power and Sound Pressure See All Noise Certification See All Industrial Process Control See All Structural Health Monitoring See All Electrical Devices Testing See All Electrical Systems Testing See All Grid Testing See All High-Voltage Testing See All Vibration Testing with Electrodynamic Shakers See All Structural Dynamics See All Machine Analysis and Diagnostics See All Dynamic Weighing See All Calibration Services for Transducers See All Calibration Services for Handheld Instruments See All Calibration Services for Instruments & DAQ See All On-Site Calibration See All Resources See All Software License Management

History of the Piezoelectric Accelerometer

The World’s first commercial piezoelectric accelerometer was developed by Dr. Per V. Brüel in 1943. This was only the first of many innovations, that would shape the world of test and measurement, we know today. Explore the great history of the piezoelectric accelerometer, and the many innovations that followed, solidifying Brüel & Kjær as the the primary source of sound and vibration measurement technology.

Piezoelectric Accelerometers

LEARN MORE
ACCELEROMETER SENSORS

 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the entire discipline of sound and vibration can be traced to these and other innovations developed by Per Brüel and his partner Viggo Kjær. Located in Nærum, Denmark, Brüel & Kjær started the sound and vibration journey in the distant 1942.

These early innovations created the foundation for the many sound and vibration measurement technologies used to develop and monitor everything from smartphones, cars, washing machines and aircrafts, we use today.

From a humble start with a small, voltmeter product line, Brüel & Kjær quickly expanded the product range over the years, which today consists of over 200 measuring instruments, transducers, and analysis software.

 

Accelerometer Innovation Since 1942

Type 4301 was only the first in a long line of world's first innovative technologies to be released, but before we get to how the first commercial accelerometer ever made, let's take a closer look at some of the many technology innovations, that Brüel & Kjær has developed.

The table below gives a complete overview of the ground-breaking technological inventions, which are still used in test and measurement applications world-wide.

 

1943 Type 4301  
Type 4301

World’s first commercial piezoelectric accelerometer made from Rochelle salt crystals and developed by Dr. Per V. Brüel in 1943.

    Type 4301 - World's first accelerometer 1957 Type 4310

A strong piezoelectric effect was discovered in lead zirconate titanate (PZT) by Jaffe in the early of 1950s, leading to the release of Brüel & Kjær’s first lead zirconate titanate (PZT) accelerometer

1971 Type 8305
1-inch laboratory standard microphone Type 4160

Brüel & Kjær’s standard reference accelerometer based on an inverted, centremounted compression design with quartz crystal piezoelectric element, ensured a high degree of accuracy for calibration

    Type 8305 - Standard reference accelerometer 1974 Type 4366

Type 4155

This all‐titanium accelerometer was the first based on Brüel & Kjær’s patented DeltaShear™ design. Still in use today, the construction is regarded as one of the all‐time, classic accelerometer constructions

    Type 4366 - World's first DeltaShear™ based titanium accelerometer 1977 Type 4374

1-inch low noise microphone Type 4179

The first miniature accelerometer with a PlanarShear design – extending the frequency range of Brüel & Kjær Shear design

    Type 4374 - The first miniature, PlanarShear accelerometer 1985 Type 4390

Type 4182

World’s first accelerometer with constant voltage line‐drive (CVLD) built‐in preamplifier

    Type 4390 - World's first constant voltage accelerometer 1985 Type 8317

½-inch free-field microphone Type 4188

Brüel & Kjær’s first and highly reliable industrial DeltaShear accelerometer suitable for permanent vibration monitoring in potentially explosive environments

    Type 8317 - The first DeltaShear accelerometer 1996 Types 4507
and 4508

½-inch free-field microphone Type 4189

World’s first dedicated modal shear accelerometer family

    Type 4507 - World's first modal accelerometer 1998 Type 4506

Acoustic calibrator - Type 4297

The world’s first OrthoShear™ triaxial accelerometer – one seismic mass for optimized noise floor and orthogonality

    Type 4506 - World's first OrthoShear™ triaxial accelerometer  (N/A) 1999 Type 4507‐B
Type 4507-B

Another world first – an accelerometer with integrated TEDS (transducer electronic data sheet)

    Type 4507‐B - World's first TEDS accelerometer 2005 Type 4524‐B

Automotive surface microphone with 1 coaxial cable Type 4949

The first miniature triaxial accelerometer with integrated TEDS

    Type 4524‐B - World's first miniature TEDS accelerometer 2008 Type 4526

Outdoor microphone for noise monitoring terminals Type 4952

A ThetaShear™, CCLD accelerometer for applications up to 180 °C (356 °F) – the highest temperature for an accelerometer with built‐in preamplifier in the industry

    Type 4526 - Accelerometer with the highest temperature in the industry 2012 Type 8347‐C

Wide temperature range (–321 to +900 °F (–196 to +482 °C)) industrial accelerometer with superior temperature transient performance from Shear design

    Type 8347‐C - Accelerometer with temperature range 2012 Type 4527

Multi-field microphone Type 4961

This universal CCLD triaxial accelerometer never sits still on the shelf, and has the widest temperature (up to 180 °C (356 °F)) and dynamic range

    Type 4527 - Accelerometer with the widest temperature range 2015 Type 4527‐C

Type 1706

The first triaxial charge accelerometer featuring a single connector

    Type 4527‐C - The first single connector accelerometer 2015 Types 4535‐B, 4524‐B
and 4508‐B

Measurement cloud

Some of the first accelerometers with data matrix. Used with Transducer Smart Setup for seamless transfer of transducer data to PULSE Reflex™

    Types 4535‐B, 4524‐B and 4508‐B - The first accelerometers with data matrix

 

 

The World's First Commercial Accelerometer

In the year 1943, Per V. Brüel designed the world’s first commercial piezoelectric accelerometer called Type 4301. It was made from Rochelle salt crystals and featured a sensitivity of 35–50 mV/g and a resonant frequency of 2–3 kHz.

 

World's first accelerometer made in 1943
On the left: Prototype drawings of Type 4301. On the right: Photo of the actual accelerometer.

Transducers


LEARN MORE
TRANSDUCERS 

 

Throughout the 1950s the Rochelle salt crystals were replaced by ceramic elements. This resulted in a doubling of the accelerometer’s sensitivity and increased its resonance to 5kHz.

Later, Brüel & Kjær added compression type accelerometers to its product line, which were further modified in 1964. This resulted in the introduction of a new series with reduced susceptibility to case loading and base strain. Further improvements in the compression design were made from 1968 to 1975.

Transducer development and innovation is very much in the Brüel & Kjær DNA. Today, we lead the industry with our many patented technology and unrivalled accuracy.

 

In the early 50’s the Rochelle salt crystals were replaced by ceramic elements, which resulted in doubling the accelerometer’s sensitivity and increasing its resonance to 5kHz. Later that same decade, B&K included to its product line compression type accelerometers which were further modified in 1964, resulting in the introduction of a new series with reduced susceptibility to case loading and base strain. Further improvements in the compression design were made from 1968 to 1975.

B&K strengthened its U.S. presence in 1958 with the opening of its facility in Cleveland, OH. The company’s first shear accelerometer (Type 8307) advanced in 1972. In 1974 the DeltaShear R design was introduced, which was further standardized during the years and later in the 90s it included DeltaTron R integrated circuits.

Type 8309 is Brüel & Kjær’s 100 000 g accelerometer. The company’s continuous development of transducers for sound and vibration is increasingly focusing on complete systems. B&K currently is one of the few companies providing the most complete solutions for sound and vibration measurement, while also staying focused on accelerometer calibration systems.

 


Related Articles